The Division 1.2 Update Finally Gives Us a Reason to Revisit the Rest of Manhattan

Once you hit level 30, much of The Division map becomes obsolete. You either head to the Dark Zone or do daily missions. But that’s changing in update 1.2.

Search and Destroy missions will breathe new life into areas you probably haven’t walked through since you leveled your character up.

Where do you find the Search and Destroy missions?

First, you need to complete every side mission and encounter in the named zones. Get busy on that if you haven’t already. After that, you can find the Search and Destroy missions at the safe houses. Each mission points you to a location on the map where groups of enemies have gathered.

Once you complete Search and Destroy missions, you’ll gather intel to find High-Value Targets. According to Ubisoft Massive, there will be daily and weekly HVT contracts. And you’ll need a couple of friends for some of them. Here’s what the Target List looks like in-game.

The first Target offers credits for a reward. The number next to each Target shows how much Target Intel you need before you can do that mission. High-Risk Targets ramp up the difficulty, and you only get one chance to take them out.

Finally. Ubisoft Massive did a fantastic job crafting a virtual Manhattan, and it’ll be nice revisiting it again. Let’s cross our fingers that the mission rewards are more than just credits.

The rest of update 1.2

Search and Destroy missions are one small piece of a larger update. New loot, better loot drop chances, a new Incursion, new Dark Zone and new gameplay features round out this month’s major update.

Clear Sky Incursion

Are we looking at another wave-based mission set in one area again? The short snippet we see in the trailer does look a bit bigger than Falcon Lost. Game Director Petter Mannerfelt says there is a checkpoint “after the first encounter.” That doesn’t mean much since there was a checkpoint after the first encounter on Falcon Lost too.

I don’t expect to see any radical mission structure changes from Falcon Lost to Clear Sky. I imagine Ubisoft Massive is waiting for the first expansion pack before they drop something major.

Here’s how Ubisoft describes the new Incursion.

In Columbus Circle, Rikers have seized one of the anti-aircraft sites abandoned by the Last Man Battalion. Now, they control the entire Manhattan airspace, and are taking possession of the supply drops.

As for loot? Hard mode offers High-End items at 204 gear score and Gear Set items at 214 gear score every time you beat the mission. Double rewards for the first time you beat it each week.

Challenge mode ups the Gear Set items to 240 gear score. You’ll also get double rewards for the first time you beat it.

Dark Zone extractions just got even more interesting

Don’t bail on your extraction right away when update 1.2 hits. Now, players can hijack each other’s extractions. Run up to the extraction before the helicopter lifts off and cut the rope. Doing this will automatically make you go Rogue, so keep that in mind.

Welp, Extractions are about to turn into a bloodbath. And I can’t wait.

Update 1.2 is also introducing Sealed Caches. These drop from named enemies in the Dark Zone. You’ll find gear, division tech (greens and blues probably) or Dark Zone funds in them.

When does The Division 1.2 update come out?

May 24th. Damn, the same day Overwatch hits. Sorry, The Division will have to wait a couple of days. Still, the updates coming in 1.2 sound decent. It helps I’ve been taking a break for the past couple of weeks.

Improved loot drops are key for me. If they are still terrible after the update, I’ll be taking another break until the first expansion.

Let me know what you think of the update fixes and additions. At least we’ll have a reason to take a stroll back through Manhattan.

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